Esters, anhydrides, and polyesters are commonly used for a wide variety of purposes in the chemical arts. These compounds have possible applications as tackifying agents, diluents, thermosetting adhesives, curable coatings, or as intermediates for these and other important products. It is thus desirable to obtain novel esters, anhydrides and polyesters which can be used in many different ways, and to prepare polyesters which exhibit superior characteristics, such as greater flexibility and impact resistance when used as coatings.